Hold Onto Me
by untrxvled
Summary: The lines were blurred long ago between Bella Swan and Damon Salvatore, and when she returns after a year of crisscrossing the country, it's only a matter of time before they reconnect—pick up exactly where they left off, but only this time, a real choice is made hidden in the depths of their breathless whispers and fiery touches. And in truth, it was so much more than just love.


**RATED T FOR SOME SEXUAL CONTENT AND BRIEF LANGUAGE USE.**

* * *

"_Taxi_!"

That was the only thing that filled Damon Salvatore's ears out of all the noise pollution that surrounded him as he made his way down the cracked narrow sidewalk of Seattle. At first, he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, again, but the closer he moved, the more he pushed his way through the slowly thinning crowd, the faster his feet took him, he knew for a fact that she had finally made her long-awaited return. He debated whether or not he should call out her name, but there was the small pang of doubt that swirled around in the pit of his stomach and lodging deep at the base of his throat, that told him it wasn't her, that it was him just getting his hopes up. After all, what were the odds that he, of all people, would notice her before disappearing off the grid a little less than a year ago.

If only he was able to tell her how much that hurt him when his girlfriend of a year had told him that she heard from a certain brunette's father that she'd packed up and left, presumably with her childhood friend, Jacob Black, since he'd gone missing around the same time, too. It tugged painfully at his heart when he thought of the many talks they had together, it was he who'd thought she'd have a reason to stay in Seattle, that the city would suck with her gone, and in truth, it had. He studied her as he helplessly followed in her walk, making sure to keep a safe distance just in case it wasn't her, like his thoughts told him; she looked stunningly gorgeous, but when didn't she? Her creamy pale legs looked a mile long in those slate gray shorts that hit just below mid-thigh, he couldn't help but notice the way her breasts bounced with every step she took, the billowy lace sleeveless top she wore moving graciously with her perfect body. The champagne color of her top made her skin look porcelain, her eyes looked wider and a shade darker than milk chocolate. Damon swallowed hard as there grew a certain tightness in his jeans, the more he gazed at who he hoped it might be, the more he walked after her, and the more he thought of what he wished he could do the moment he proved that Isabella Swan had finally made her return to the glamorous playground of Seattle, Washington. But the sudden vibration in his coat pocket brought him back to reality. With a groan, Damon pulled his iPhone out, and checked to see that his best friend was calling him; the groan disappeared immediately and a smile flickered on his pale lips, as he accepted the invitation to have a phone chat, bringing it to his ear.

"Damon," The familiar voice belonging to Enzo echoed in Damon's ear.

"Hello, Enzo." Damon chuckled softly, hoping that his voice could not be heard through the chatter that cluttered around as he crossed the street, still following after a hopeful particular brunette who was determined to catch a taxi, her arm flailing as she attempted to flag one down to take her elsewhere. "What do I owe the pleasure of hearing from you?"

"It's been a while since anyone's heard from you, just making sure that you're alive, Salvatore." Enzo replied in his usual smokers, his accent fluent, voice, that somehow lured in almost every girl in the entire city- every girl except for Bella, of course. Her eyes were only for Damon, as far as he knew, and a part of him loved that, but another part of him felt guilty since he'd basically tossed aside Bella's feelings for him. . . in order to make another brunette, and Bella's best friend, happy, because her life had been so shitty, she needed the support, and things hadn't worked out with Damon's younger brother, Stefan.

"I'm alive and well, Enzo." Damon's crystalline eyes followed the brunette, making sure he didn't lose track of her within the distance that he kept. Damon contemplated whether or not he should share with Enzo that she might have finally returned from her travels, but then again, she was never really Enzo's biggest fan; she wasn't a big fan of his charm or violent, and often sadistic, ways. Enzo, much like Damon, rather enjoyed embracing his true vampire natures, and didn't think twice about making it clear that he did not care what other people thought of the way he responded to things. "Look, man. I've gotta go, I'll talk to you later."

"Heading on over to your girlfriend's?" Enzo pressed with curiosity. _Fuck_, Damon mentally groaned as he was ready to press the end button on the phone call. Honestly, Damon had forgotten all about going over to the his girlfriend's apartment for . . . _ugh_, he didn't even remember why he was going over there; he was a little buzzed, somewhere on the road to getting drunk, when he'd talked to his girlfriend, Elena Gilbert, about the gathering for something involving Bonnie Bennett, Elena and Caroline Forbes' best friend. Maybe it had to do with her birthday. "Damon?"

"What? Yeah, uh, _yeah_ I'm going over there now. I'll stop on over at Fairmont when I'm done with . . . whatever at Elena's." Damon's voice became an octave higher, and he didn't even realize it until he noticed the brunette had started to slowly turn around; Damon's eyes widened and he did his best to hide behind as many people as possible, hoping that he blended into the crowd that bustled the busy streets of Seattle.

When he saw that she turned back to facing forward, a giant sigh of relief escaped his lips, ending the phone call between him and Enzo before anything else could be said. Oh, _my fuck_, Damon thought to himself, suddenly stopping dead in his tracks. Damon had been in such a state of shock that he'd completely forgotten that he had the ability to make a clean getaway, disappear from sight in the blink of an eye, or even just snap her neck before she could get a chance to spot him, but the last thing would draw in a lot of unwanted attention. From the turning of her face, it was one hundred percent confirmed that she was making a grand reappearance to the city, and it made his heart grind against his rib cage ferociously, as much as he hated to admit it, and he knew it was because of how he felt about the brunette that was several people ahead of him. But it was the fact that he knew about this, and only him.

* * *

Watching videos on YouTube could only be so entertaining, and with a soft, barely audible sigh, Bella closed her silver MacBook Air, and pushed it away from her body with her toes across her bed. Bella twirled her bracelet around on her thin wrist, and flopped to lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling of her hotel suite's bedroom; her thumb brushing along the lapis lazuli heart-shaped stone that studded her daylight bracelet. After returning from crisscrossing the country with her best friend, Jacob, she thought it would be best to relieve some stress by taking a stroll through the city she'd fallen in love with most, before stopping to go see her younger brother; her main reason to return to Seattle. And then it sparked in her mind, as she remembered hearing an oddly familiar voice as she walked down one of the main streets as she tried to hail a cab to take her home; but when she'd turned around, there was no face to match the voice, much to her disappointment. When she returned to the hotel she was currently staying at, she, took a long hot bubble bath, and changed into her comfortable clothing, she had the strongest urge to reactivate and check her Facebook; she hadn't been on it in over a year, despite how much she missed being in contact with her friends that she'd left behind, especially, especially, especially Damon Salvatore, the very person she could have sworn she heard walking behind her in the city sometime in the afternoon after her arrival back into town.

And just as luck would have it, her phone blew up into a vibrating frenzy, indicating that Bella was receiving a phone call. She snatched it out from under her pillow, dragging it along the silky soft-as-spiderweb champagne-gold down filled duvet, tapping the answer button with her thumb without even checking to see who'd bothered her moment of supposed peace. No words were spoken, instead it was just the sound of someone's husky breathing on the other line, Bella slowly sat up on her bed, pulling her laptop back to her and opening it up, typing Facebook into the URL of Safari, then immediately closing out of the link, looking casually around the vast, perfect and immaculately decorated bedroom.

"Bella?" A voice finally said into the receiver.

The brunette's breath caught in her throat, a slight rivet becoming of her heart inside of her chest; she slowly lowered herself to laying back down on her bed, staring up as she dragged her feet, pointing her knees up at the ceiling."D—_Damon_?"

"Yeah," The male on the other end said in what sounded like a breathless chuckle. "It's me. Why do you sound so surprised?"

Bella was quiet for a moment, why _did_ she sound surprised? After all, he had called her several times a day in hopes she'd pick up since her departure, leaving her various messages for him to call her back so they could talk, wondering if she was okay and asking about where she'd disappeared to, why she left him behind. But she had never answered, or returned his calls—she wanted some kind of fresh start, a clean slate, turning over a new leaf, when she'd started traveling with Jacob and that's exactly what she'd been doing, with leaving her old life behind, but if it weren't for what happened with Jeremy, she'd still be gone. Maybe. After all, she'd done some pretty fucked up things while she was away, but in her mind, it was nothing compared to sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend, and then having to watch as Damon chose Elena over her, over what they had, pretending to be okay with that, pretending that she wasn't dying on the inside, that it wasn't killing her that the only boy she's ever loved in her life, thought of it as a one-time thing.

"Bells?" Damon's voice filled her ear again.

"What? Oh, sorry." She mumbled apologetically, a soft sigh touching her pale pouty pink lips; she stretched her legs out so they were flat against her bed again. "I was just... thinking."

"How come I haven't heard from you in a year, Bella?" Damon wondered, and then softly added, "I've missed you.. a lot."

"I—I've missed you too." She replied just as softly, twirling a strand of her auburn hair mindlessly around her long, elegant finger, staring at the sparkly sapphire ring that was on her middle finger. "Things have been really, uh… I didn't have… I was really busy, while I was away... " She stammered out nervously, hating the qualms that stirred around in the space behind her belly button, the butterflies becoming a frenzy, their imaginary wings fluttering as fast as her heart beat.

"Hey, um.. I meant to ask... Are you, uh, are you back.. in, erm, Seattle?" Damon was almost as nervous as she was, and it made a small smile flicker to her lips, the corners turning up ever so slightly more than she anticipated too. It was so cute, to hear that Seattle's ultimate bad boy sounded so nervous, so unsure, that it reminded her of the many adventures of the last year. And then Damon started laughing hysterical, bursting into a bunch of giggles, and Bella bit her lip hard to prevent laughing with him. Could he be any cuter?

"Hey, what are your plans for today?" Bella asked, trying to change the subject, but also staying on the subject at the same time.

"Um..." Damon hesitated.

Was he going to see Elena? Bella wondered. More than likely, she decided to herself as she waited for her (_former_?) best friend to answer her question. "If not, do you want to—could you possibly... I'm, uh, I'm b—"

"I don't know who's more nervous, me or you." Damon crowed in a laugh, his voice sounding huskier than it had before. But she was glad that he pointed out that they were both nervous, and it wasn't just her imagination running wild again. But what had gotten into him? _Alcohol_, my dear. Seems like the arrival of the favorited brunette is causing the dark-haired, blue-eyed 173 year old vampire to intensify his drinking habit. She swallowed heavily, and took a deep breath.

"I'm back in the City, and I was wondering if you'd wanna come over." The words rolled off her tongue before she had a chance to think them over, and then softly gasped at the end of her sentence, sucking in that gasp to hold her breath, wondering what he could say, wondering if he was busy to go see Elena, wondering if he just might—

"I'm on my way." He breathed, and then hung up the phone with a quick, soft click. Bella pulled the phone away from her ear, watching as the screen flashed, signaling that the phone call ended, fading to the lock screen of her iPhone, smiling to herself as she set her phone on the bedside table, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed to leap up to her feet.

* * *

Damon Salvatore swallowed the apple-sized lump that formed in his throat, shoving his iPhone into his pocket, loose and lazily tying up the laces on his classic Italian shoes. It had taken a lot of courage for him to finally grow the balls to call Bella to see if she was truly in Seattle, it was just something that he had to be one hundred percent sure of, to hear it from her that she was definitely back in town. He couldn't believe that Bella was inviting him over, after all the time that they hadn't talked in the past year from her not responding to anything of his, he couldn't believe how nervous she was, and it was a relief to him, since he was just as nervous. But after a few drinks, Damon had calmed himself down, hoping it wasn't too obvious to his friend that he'd drank some while they were on the phone. As luck would have it for the elder Salvatore, he had called Elena earlier to let him know that he was on his way over to get the scoop on what was going on for Bonnie, and that's when his girlfriend had informed him that it wasn't until the following evening that they would be throwing their soirée. However, she invited him over so they could spend some time together, but Damon politely declined, saying that he had some kind of call thing with his brother and Enzo. Of course, though a _little_ skeptical, Elena believed him. Just like Damon always pulling this kind of shit right out of his ass whenever there was something else that he needed to do, that didn't involve Elena, and wouldn't involve Elena, as bad as that sounded from the boyfriend's perspective. But now that Damon knew Bella was back in town, he had the strongest feeling she didn't want anyone else knowing until she was ready.

_How unusual_, Damon thought to himself as he rushed out of the Salvatore brothers' townhouse. The way he was acting, it was the most disturbing and unusual thing he'd ever experienced; completely out of character. Never in his life since turning into a vampire in 1864 had Damon been nervous about talking to a girl, not even one as beautiful as Bella. But there was just something about her that made him lose his cool, tough demeanor and trade it in for someone who was head-over-heels, hopelessly in love with a girl that . . . he was not dating. Shaking away his thoughts, Damon flagged down the nearest cab to save him the long-ass walk and preventing being sweaty from when he was finally reunited with Bella, he barked out the address to the greasy cab driver as he slammed the door after he slid on the grimy leather seat. Once the car jerked forward into motion, Damon instantly felt himself relax, taking a deep breath and staring up at the cab's roof, grabbing at his phone in his pocket, trying to slow the erratic beating of his heart, but found it utterly pointless; his heart would jump just as excitedly inside of his chest the moment he saw the dark haired beauty up close and directly in person.

Approximately fifteen minutes later the cab pulled up in front of The Fairmont where he knew Bella had stayed prior to leaving Seattle. He paid the driver the amount of cash that was owed, climbing out and hip-checking the door closed, giving a small wave to the doorman, who smiled weakly back as he held the door for the "24" year old. Damon rushed passed him, shoving both hands into his pockets, making his way into the elevator, staring blankly up at the ceiling after punching in the floor number that Bella lived on, humming along with the Muzak version of "Bad Romance" that played softly through the speakers. He walked out when the elevator dinged, shuffling down the long, narrow hall in search for the room number. Prior to when Bella left, Damon had hung around the suite with Bella's younger brother, Jeremy, while Bella took a nap or was preparing dinner. It was nice to hang out with someone that wasn't Enzo, Stefan, and Alaric, plus he was also in high hopes that Jeremy had done some talking to Bella since she'd left, and in truth, Jeremy had heard as much from his sister as the rest of them.

"Damon! Done at Elena's_ already_?" Someone chuckled ahead of Damon, just before he saw them come into his line of vision. His ice blue eyes flickered to see that Enzo was walking from the opposite end of the hallway, decked out in his usual t-shirt and casual jeans that he saved for the weekends, his feet shuffling in a pair of worn sneakers.

"Uh, yeah. But I came to talk to Jeremy, so afterward, I'll head over to your suite." Damon lied, because in truth, he'd forgotten all about hanging out with Enzo once he'd finished whatever he was supposedly mingling at Elena's for Bonnie's party, that was now the next day. An uncertain look shadowed on Enzo's face, one that Damon could not decipher. Did he _know_ something? Did he know that Bella was back in town? It would explain why Enzo was wandering this very wall, and not being cooped in his suite, as Enzo and his . . . female friend, did not live on that floor in the Fairmont, but neither of them said anything, instead they brushed passed each other without looking over their shoulders. It wasn't too long until Damon was knocking Bella's door, and letting out a shuddering breath.

"One second!" A melodic voice trilled from the other side.

Moments later the door swung open to reveal Bella, no longer wearing the clothes she'd debuted while wandering about the streets of Seattle, her hair damply transformed from a deep auburn to a soft black, swept messily up on top of her head in one of those buns that he always sees girls contorting their hair into, a sheer pink tank top covered her torso and scandalous black shorts that looked like they were reserved for underwear covered her bottom. The lump formed in Damon's throat again as he looked Bella over, and desperately tried to swallow it. Why must she do this to him? Did she _conveniently_ forget that it was not even a twenty minute ride from the Salvatore's building to the Fairmont?

"Damon, hi!" Bella sounded alarmed, a dark red blush splashed at her cheeks, blushing furiously. "I didn't think you'd be here, so soon."

"We kinda took a short cut." He shrugged, trying to keep his eyes on Bella's face, focusing on her milky brown eyes.

"Come in." She said quietly, Damon nodded and stepped into the hotel room, his hands remaining shoved deep into his pockets, while Bella disappeared to hiding behind the door of her bedroom. He stared at a piece of artwork that Bella's mother, Renee, had recently put up while he waited for his friend to come back out to the "public eye" of her daughter's suite. Funny, he didn't even know Renee was in Seattle, he'd assumed that she went back to Jacksonville after Bella left last year; he turned at the sound of a door creaking open, to see that it was Renee who was coming out. A scarf was dangling around the elder woman's neck, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Damon standing in the foyer of Bella's suite.

"_Damon_." She sounded almost as startled as Serena had when he first showed up. He also knew that Renee was not his biggest fan, and was completely against her daughter being friends with someone like him:_ troubled_, up to no good, and an avid bourbon drinker.

"Hello, Renee." He mustered quietly, looking over at Bella and Jeremy's mother.

"Erm, Damon, Jeremy isn't... Jeremy hasn't been around, he's off in New Mexico. I thought you knew?" Renee continued to sound nervous; it was obvious that she was trying to hide the fact that Bella was back in town. Clearly, she didn't know that he'd talked to her daughter, personally, himself.

"He _knows_, Mom." Bella's voice ghosted out from her bedroom as she walked out, now wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a slouchy sweater, the pink and white stripes brought out the rosy complexion on her smooth pale skin, her dark hair was still a knot on top of her head. Damon thought she looked incredible, even with no makeup caked on her face like she had worn the year before.

Renee was bewildered, as she looked over at her only daughter. "You told him?"

"I can't keep a secret from Damon, mother." Bella replied with a slightly stern tone.

"Well," Renee appeared uncomfortable now, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, it was the first time that Damon had ever seen Renee look like that, in all the years that he's known her. "I'll be on my way, then." She looked over at her daughter one more time before leaving the hotel suite, closing the door behind her.

Damon and Bella looked at each other, before collapsing into a fit of hysterical giggles, embracing each other in a tight hug. He buried his face against her neck, tightening his arms around the gracious brunette he'd missed so much, inhaling her sweet, succulent scent with the closing of his eyes. Damon ultimately felt like he never wanted to let go of her, his fingers caressing up and down her back, massaging at the spaces between her ribs, rubbing along the contour of her spine, causing Bella to shiver in what felt like delight. Her arms were neatly draped on his hips, her small hands clutching at the small of his back, pulling their bodies together as the laughter died down, since there was nothing funny anymore. Bella's memory flashed to the night they'd slept together for the first time, how they'd been laughing so much even though nothing was relatively funny, while they did it in the abandoned bar while everyone else was enjoying themselves at the birthday party that had been thrown for Caroline by Klaus Mikaelson, Care's then-boyfriend; her own bad boy to ruffle her perfect feathers, as Damon had done to both Bella and Elena. Her skin warmed at the memory of Damon's hands on her bare skin, his lips nipping and kissing every inch of her body that he could, the seductive way her name came breathlessly from passed his lips when their bodies were conjoined as one. Quickly, those thoughts were shaken away from Bella's mind, her eyelids fluttering opened, her eyelashes dusting against Damon's neck. She pulled away to look at him, an adoring smile playing her lips.

And Damon wanted nothing more, than to kiss her, and kiss her, and just do everything to Bella, to _love_ Bella the way he had a year ago.

Neither of them noticed how their heads were slowly leaning inward, until their hitched breathing was softly, gently touching each other's lips. If it weren't for Bella to take the risky plunge of resting her lips lightly on top of Damon's, they would have parted awkwardly, and tried their hardest to forget that the two of them were centimeters apart with the sexual tension rising.

Now, Damon's arms constricted Bella, but his hands slipped down to gripping behind her thighs, lifting the petite brunette off the ground and slamming her back hard into the wall, riskily giving a more ferocious, hungry kiss, pinning her against the wall. Bella's fingers threaded through Damon's coffee-black hair, knotting and twisting, tugging lightly, returning the kiss just as fierce, the passion that she'd kept locked inside for over a year, exploding, the longer their lips stayed connected, the more heated their actions and gestures became. The tell-tale dark lines that heralded Damon's vampire visage slithered out under his eyes, as he inhaled deeply, taking in everything that was Bella Swan, and loving it, grinding his hips hard into hers with a growing lust to feel every inch of her underneath him.

"_Room_." Damon mumbled against Bella's lips, slowly pulling her away from the wall and carrying her, whisking off to Bella's bedroom, leaving the door wide open as he playfully threw the brunette onto the bed. She burst out laughing as her body collided with the mattress, tossing and turning, kicking her legs lightly with her head thrown back. There was just something hilarious about what Damon had done to her. He pulled his t-shirt over his head, chucking it to the floor, then flipped the button on his jeans, which hung low on his hips, shimmying them until they slowly slid down the length of his legs until he could step out of them, and climbing onto Bella's bed, dragging her by the ankles toward him as she started to crawl away, giggling. She yelped, rolling onto her back just as her body was fully in front of Damon's. A sly smile formed as she grabbed the hem of her sweater, sliding the top off her body, letting it fall freely wherever to the floor of her room; Damon's eyes voluntarily widened when he saw that Bella had not been wearing a bra underneath. Her perky, rosy nipples and full breasts awaited, just like the rest of her perfect body. A sexual growl came from his throat as he leaned down to Bella, cupping one breast in his hand, running his thumb over her erect nipple, his lips attacking hers once more.

Bella moaned softly into his mouth, her chest arching up against his when his thumb found its way to rolling it around and playing with her nipple. His other hand grabbed at her jeans, ignoring the silly button and zipper, tearing them down her pale mile-long legs, and chucking the pants behind him, hoping Bella wouldn't be too mad about the outcome of her pants, grabbing one of Bella's thighs and bringing it to his bare hip, right above the brim of his boxers. Instinctively, her legs just wrapped around him, his hard member, encased by the silk fabric of his blue-black boxers, poked at her core gently, and slowly his hips thrust forward, to tease. She whined a little, her hands pressing hard against his back, trying to pull him closer to her than he already was, grinding up into him. Damon groaned, hooking a finger in the side of her underwear and ripping them right off, Bella's hand pulling at his boxers, yanking them down to expose him; it was quick and painless for Damon's manhood to fill Bella, burying himself to the hilt, his thrusts starting out slow and tentative, reaching his now free hand to lace his fingers intertwined with one of Bella's hands, looking down at her, carefully watching for her reactions. Her eyelids were fluttering, soft moans emitted from her lips, her nails began to dig at Damon's back to the point where she drew blood, and her hips moved in sync with his.

_Man_, was she beautiful, Damon observed as he started thrusting a little harder and faster, keeping his darkening eyes locked on Bella the entire time. A wry smirk pulled at her lips as her own face started to change before him, slamming her perfect, lithe body up against him, raking her nails down along the defined muscles of his back.

Her head rested on the muscular, toned chest that belonged to Damon Salvatore, her fingertips stroking lightly along his happy trail, a smile illuminating her face. Her muscles had stretched to the point where she was aching and tired, from the amount of times she and Damon had given their "not-so-friendly" hellos to each other since his arrival to the suite. Dozens of bloody rings were imprinted into the sides of both Damon and Bella's necks, their shoulders, and Bella's breasts, and below that on Bella was deep, violent purple bruise-like shadow, the beloved markings that had accidentally-purposely left there sometime during their intimacy, and she would wear it proudly, it was proof that she was his, and only his. His fingertips trailed up her spin with a feather-light touch, sending her into an arousing shock of shivers, and then she couldn't help but start giggling into his chest. Damon didn't comment, it was just very_ Bella_ of her to do that, which was perfectly fine with him.

Damon was staring up at the frothy white canopy that hung down in clouds over Bella's luxurious bed, his chest rising and falling unevenly.

Bella moved her head a little, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in the strangely alluring scent of sex-sweat, lingering rollover alcohol, and sandalwood soap that radiated off her friend, and first love._ I want you, I need you, I love you_. She wanted Damon to be hers, and only hers, forever. She'd had him first, she'd kissed him first, she'd even had sex with him first, and wasn't that enough to cling to each other for the rest of eternity? She thought so, and she hoped he thought the same, because in truth, she knew that they were each other's first loves, even if it wasn't to be spoken aloud. His love consumed her; it was utterly perfect, she could be smothered in his love and never grow tired of it, especially if his love was expressed in that particular way, referring to what they'd just done with each other. The love was hidden, buried in between the thrusts, moans, and orgasms, but it was strongly visible in both of their hearts, in their touches and whispers, they could both feel it, it could not be forgotten or restrained. Isabella Swan wanted nothing _more_ than to continue feeling the warmth that came from Damon every time she was around him, the comfort that reappeared as soon as she heard his voice on the phone earlier that day, he made her feel so welcomed in Seattle, whereas she had the strongest feeling that it wouldn't be the same with everyone else that she'd left behind a year prior.

Damon pressed his lips to Bella's sex-sweat-matted locks, giving her a soft kiss, hugging her body closer to his, his muscles flexing in his arm. He could feel her smile against the skin of his neck, his blue eyes flickering down to where his marks were, and he could feel his own smile forming; it was a triumphant feeling that electrocuted and wrapped itself throughout Damon's stark naked body, and so much more, that he could not identify this proper emotion, he just knew that it was strong, fast growing. . . there was no way to stop this, despite who had never crept into his mind once this entire time since arriving at the hotel suite. And it was best he kept that name out of his thoughts, until at least later, so he didn't feel guilty while holding his angel in his arms. Truthfully, he loved having her this close to him, laying on the bed next to him in his arms, feeling like they could make it through anything and nothing in the world could stop them from how they truly meant to one another; he wanted to see this girl when he woke up in the morning, and when he fell asleep the upcoming or previous night.

Bella closed her eyes, sliding her hand over to resting on Damon's hip bone, digging her fingers against his side, clutching herself closer to him, tangling their legs under the blanket that covered them. They shared such an incredible, electric, and intense connection that neither of them thought still existed after her time away, but Bella could feel the familiar hollow thumping of her heart inside of her chest. She had felt this after her and Damon slept together the first time, and when she had decided to leave Seattle behind, leave Damon behind; it stayed with her in her various flings because she knew that her heart would always belong to Damon, despite him breaking it, breaking her, without even entirely knowing it. She wanted him to feel the unconditional love that coursed through her veins, she could tell that it had sparked inside of him long ago, but he wasn't as open about it, as she was willing, and that hurt. He wants to feel, what she feels, because they both knew, that it conjoined them as one, their love was inevitable. Slowly and softly, her lips pressed to his neck, as she lifted her body slightly up from the bed, partially laying herself on him, but still remaining on the bed, as Damon grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers tightly intertwined, and squeezed gently.

He felt her lips, but could not smile. He just knew that the gesture, the affection she was giving, was passionate and gentle. And that's one thing he loved, from her, it was the kindest of reassurance that she didn't see him as an object of sex, as he thought most of the girls that entered his life, whether they be long term or just a random passerby, despite who he was with. It was loving, nurturing, and adorning. Just like he saw Bella as, in her most vulnerable times, in her sweetest times, all the time. He held Bella tighter in his grasp of the one arm that was wrapped around her, using his free arm, using his hand to tip her chin so he could place the kiss on her lips that gave her the same reassurance, deep and passionate, with the tedious amount of ferocity. Love. It was love, that allowed Bella to see a different side of Damon, and vice versa. They fell in love with everything about each other, their flaws and perfections, their fucked up lives, their past, their undeniably gorgeous naturally good looks, the personalities that neither of them would change about each other, because it's what made them who they are. But there is so much about each other, that they have to learn, their eyes only scratch the surface of their loves, but it's somehow enough, because in time, all of the time in the world they had together, they will learn, they want each other to know the things that no one else does.

Bella raised her hand to cupping Damon's cheek, her thumb stroking at his high cheek bone softly, as she returned Damon's surprising kiss. The amount of pressure that she applied, was the balancing of passion that succumbed her whenever she was in Damon's presence; the intensity showed him just how much she had let his love consume her, that she forgot the strong amount of pain she'd been left with for a year, she did not feel lonely or empty inside, as she did while on the road with Jacob; the hollow ache inside of her body that lingered in her tissues, his overpowering love was strong enough to make it all disappear, that he was amazing, everything that Bella ever wanted, and will always want. His hands grasped at her hips firmly, sliding her to sitting on his lap, sitting up so he had better access of kissing Bella, erasing away the lingering pain that may have been a thimble in her heart from the exchanging of their dangerous, exciting and adventurous passion that molded itself into their intimate connection.

"Bella?" Damon's voice was a barely audible whisper. It was the first time either of them had spoke since long before they finished riding out their orgasms together; and it startled her to hear the sound of his voice; her head pulled away from his slightly, a tiny smile showing on her lips, as she looked him over. She carefully raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what it was that he could tell her. . . was it something involving a certain brunette? Did he regret this, like she felt as if he had when they first had sex last year? She bit her tongue, to keep from saying anything that she didn't want to, waiting for him to speak. "I'll be your safety, and _you_'re my lady."

"Damon?" She squeaked out softly, "I love you, I_ really _love you. More than anything, and I just want you to know that, because you hold my heart forever." The blush returned to Bella's cheeks, and that made Damon smile; he gently squeezed her hips, sliding her from his lap so she resumed to laying next to him, his arm clutching Bella to him; immediately she nuzzled up against him. Really, Damon loved Bella _too_, just as much as she loved him—he was in love with her, and he wanted nothing more than to stay with her, to keep her warm and safe, to let her know that she was loved all the time, to never let her go. This, a life without Bella, was not something he could fathom. It was torture just for her being away for the past year, and he was so glad that he was the first to officially know that she was here, with the exception of her mother, of course.

Without even saying anything else, Damon knew that Bella was a little sketchy on the fact that he loved her and wanted her, given the fact that he chose Elena instead of her the _day_ after they'd slept together. The elder vampire remembered every detail of that night, right down to the strong urge to let everyone in the entire world know that he was in love with Bella, and that he had been the one to take away her innocence, that they were perfect for each other in every possible way, there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think about Bella, or their time together, or their journey since they first met, how far they've come to where they are now, lying naked on Bella's bed while no one else was home. It made Bella wonder, if Damon understood just how strong her intoxicating feelings were for him, and at the same time, she knew her answer because he returned it in such a massive amount that there were no words in the English Dictionary to even describe the distinctness of it all. It was something neither of them wanted to feel, but they couldn't look past it, they were in too deep to find a way to stop loving each other so fucking much. There was no escape, and it wasn't like they wanted to, anyway. They craved each other's heart, they wanted each other, they penetrated each other's soul. Their bodies were connected in ways that could not be explained, physically…hell, perhaps even spiritually, from how conjoined they knew they were from the start; Bella wanted all of Damon, and Damon wanted all of Bella, they made each other whole.

There was no hiding the truth. _Ever_.

Damon thought of how perfectly Bella fit in his arms, how perfectly their bodies fit together, like they were made for one another. How beautifully intoxicating she was, that she consumed him almost as badly as a drug that he could not get enough of; he wanted to feel this forever, no doubt, as he had assured himself thousands of times after realizing that he was in love with her; it was a transforming love, one that could never be interfered with. He thought of how much they could have possibly gone through in the past year, what fun may lie ahead in their futures of being in each others lives—

"Damon, can I tell you something, that—that you can't repeat to anyone, not even Elena?" Bella's lashes dusted against his skin, but she didn't look up at him.

"Of course." He murmured in response.

"The reason I came back from boarding school, was… was because Jeremy tried to commit suicide. And he's in a rehab center, but my mom told everyone that he went to art school in New Mexico…" Still, her head rested on him, her eyes didn't move to looking up at him to see his reaction. From what she'd heard from her mother, Jeremy and Damon had formed a brotherly bond, but it wasn't something that could be like Damon and Enzo's tight-knit friendship that's been rock-hard since the 1950's (once mended after finally meeting again after approximately 70 years) and she knew for a fact that Damon had not known about what happened to her brother, because only immediate family had known, including Bella's father, Charlie, who was the chief of police in Forks, which was a few hours away from Seattle, but there had been absolutely no word from him, as far as Bella knew, after Jeremy's incident.

"I'm so sorry that happened, Bella.. I can't imagine how broken you'd be if he succeeded..." Damon's voice trailed off softly, thinking of the younger Swan. He swallowed heavily; he briefly recalled hearing something from Alaric, his other best friend and drinking buddy, who had been Jeremy's legal guardian after Bella left, that something had happened with Jeremy, and that's when Alaric asked for Stefan's help, in such a panic, and then most likely contacted Renee to bring her back to Seattle. Damon didn't know the full story, at the time. But what Damon did know, was that he wanted to stand by Bella's side through the dark periods in her life, to help her get through every fucked up thing to happen to her, to her family, to anyone around her that she cared about; that he would always love her, that his love could remove the pain that clung in the depths of her heart for so many reasons that she might not even remember until a flicker of a memory surfaces in her mind, the same way she had helped him, and the way that she'd always been there for Elena, up until her departure. He knew for a fact, after this, that it probably hadn't been easy to give up something —some_one_— she loved so much.

Damon lowered his head toward Bella's once more, cradling her secure and tight in his arms, pressing his lips softly against hers, both of their eyes fluttering closed. With that single kiss, it was locked and sealed, that they could show each other how much they needed one another, how much they wanted to be loved by each other, that they were Damon and Bella, they were everything, they could be forever. Just like they wanted. They weren't alone, and they didn't have to be alone.

"I love you." They whispered in sync softly under their breaths, their lips still connected, a sudden fire growing in the pit of Damon's stomach, smoothly transferring to Bella as the seconds stretched into minutes, kissing with a renewed, intensified vigor, raw and shameless. Damon's hands trailed over the bare skin of Bella's arms, his touch sent electrifying jolts; tiny tingles coursed through her body from head to toe, as he gripped her harder against him; creating a rhythmic push-and-pull as they became one a lot quicker, and a lot more rougher, than the very first time. Among all the dizziness and clinging to each other like a lifeline, something changed between them, never to be reversed. This new feeling could be dwelled upon later, because for now, they were just content with the the coming and going of their intertwined bodies.

And in truth, it was so much more than just love.

* * *

**author's note: I know I promised that I would write a holiday one-shot for you, but I came up with this instead. I've been trying so hard to come up with another chapter to put up for Belong, but I've seriously been lacking, and I can't even think of something new for the Originals story that I'd posted. I keep writing new things, and give them dry leads after a few attempts. God, this sucks. But the sexual content in this story is A LOT more tamed than what I usually write, therefor I felt like it deserved a T rating instead of M. **

** But I hope you enjoyed this slight AU story. **

**Lots of love to my viewers, **_and I promise I will be up and running with new chapters as soon as I can!_


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